MLB Offseason Thoughts

Hello readers! After a month break from the last post I made (Patriots won, yay!) I feel its time to write something that I have been planning for a while, MLB stuff. I'll give my take on the recent free agent signings of Manny Machado and Bryce Harper, as well as my outline to my MLB season weekly review.

Machado Stays In Sunny California

Before the news of Bryce Harper's signing to the Phillies, it was Manny Machado's signing with the San Diego Padres that made the news. Machado, like Harper, was looking for a long-term deal with a club and it was the Padres that showed him the moolah. It was quite the moolah.

Machado last season had a good year posting a .297 batting average, 37 homers and 107 RBI's. You have to remember that Machado spent most of last season on a bad Baltimore Orioles squad. He would get traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for prospects. The way that he plays surely made it seem good enough for the Dodgers to pick him up. He made a World Series appearance last year against the Red Sox. Unfortunately, the Dodgers lost that series. Not a bad year for him as a rental.

The deal is a 10-year, $300 million contract. That's essentially 30 million a year. The deal makes him the highest paid athlete in any North American sport. Machado will turn 27 in July so by the time his contract is up he'll be in his mid to late '30s. Not a bad way to go.

For the Padres it was a nice pick up for them, they got a star, a great farm system that could mature in the next couple years, and a division that could be ripe for the taking in 2020 or 2021. On the other hand, the Padres have had bad luck with signing free agents. James Shields, Josh Johnson and Orlando Hudson would come to mind. The risk is high but the Padres could make themselves into a contender for a while if this stays true. Time will only tell.

Harper For 13 Years

As I am writing this on the 28th of February. The surprise of all surprises came down as the biggest prize free agent, Bryce Harper, went to the Philadelphia Phillies. There was a lot of flirting with other teams like the Yankees, Dodgers, Nationals, and Padres but it would be the Phillies that would pull in the prize.

Bryce Harper in 2018 had a lower batting average than Machado with Harper hitting only .249 on the year. Should be noted that Harper had a terrible first half and a good second half of the season. Harper got 34 homers, 100 RBI's while compiling 137 hits. The outfielder did not make the postseason but did have a good All-Star Game winning the Home Run Derby for his Washington Nationals.

The Phillies have been a club in a transition from the days of Jimmy Rollins, Cliff Lee, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley to a new era and it would surely mean the biggest stars would be Aaron Nola (who was acquired earlier in the offseason), Jake Arrieta and Bryce Harper. It would mean big things for the club's future as they are a young team that could make noise in the National League.

The deal of all deals is a 13-year, $330 million contract that would make it the most valuable deal in MLB history. Babe Ruth is drooling at that money I'm sure. He would stand to make $25.3 million a year with the deal. The contract lasts until the 2031 season.

MLB Weekly Review Outline

One of the things I've been thinking of doing with this blog makes it active all year long. I have a stable following from September to February with the NFL and would like to make it somewhat active during the Spring and Summer months. Certainly doing a weekly post on Major League Baseball would make sense.

Here's how it would work:

I would make a weekly post on the 30 team's week starting from Monday to Sunday since most regular-season series starts on Monday/Tuesday and ends on Sunday. I would include the team's weekly record, then overall record, and comment on their week whether good or bad. I would also include MLB news that I have a take. If you ever listen to the hockey-themed "Puck Podcast" (as I am a fan of hockey as well) they do a similar format with their podcast with a week that starts on a certain day and ends on a different day as well.

Hopefully, I can stay consistent with it as it would be fun for me to do during the lazy summer months. Expect a preseason predictions post the week before Opening Day (hopefully, I can be better with baseball predictions than my "Raiders to the Super Bowl prediction" prior to the last NFL season. Until then, have a good March folks!

-Tom